Chapter Text
Try Me onLine
~
No. Uryu jerked away. The chair thumped behind him as he quickly stood. His breath heavy and ragged from shock. Everything shook and he fumble to yank the headset off his head. It tangled around, pulling the laptop on his desk, jarring it just enough that the headphone jack disconnected and the loud voices came pouring out of the tiny speakers.
Panic set in. He yelped; quickly reaching over to jam at the keys, forgetting about the mouse that almost fell off the tiny table. No, no, no, no! His brain on full freak-out mode. And when hitting the escape key didn’t work Uryu let out a cry of dismay, slammed down the screen and pulled the power cord.
The silence came but he could still hear the voice, echoing in his head over and over. Calling out for him, whispering, chuckling softly next to his ears. Panting in sheer terror Uryu turned quickly away. He almost tripped over the upturned chair and barely missed the newly purchased headset on the floor as he staggered to the other side of the room. Back to the wall he hugged himself.
No… It can’t be! The shakes continued making the world vibrate in a toxic electricity. This isn’t happening. Uryu breathed in a staggered breath and sat down. A sudden rumble from his phone vibrating on the desk signaled that he had received a message. After a moment, another. He didn’t have to get up and look. He knew. His phone lit up a third time demanding attention and all Uryu could do was continue to breathe hysterically. No, not him. It can’t be-
Nice to Meet You Aoi Tori
“A video game?” Uryu raised an eyebrow. “You need help with… a video game?” He regarded the energetic girl standing before him as he stood from his seat. Orihime posed her hands carefully in front of her. The ends of her coppery locks twisted naturally over the year since their official return from the winter war. Uryu sighed. Picking up his bag he swung it over his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Inoue-san.”
“Please, Ishida-kun?” She sidestepped to keep in front of him. Big gray eyes round and she wrinkled her nose as she bounced slightly.
“What about Arisawa-san? I thought she was good at them.”
“She is. But she’s going to be visiting family for the holidays and won’t be able to play. That’s why… Just please, Ishida-kun?” He sighed heavily. “It’s tactical, has tons of customizable stuff for your characters, and it doesn’t require a subscription to play.”
Uryu balked. “It’s online?”
“It’s loads of fun though!” Her smile faded slightly when he gave her a look. “There’s an archer class…” She mumbled as an afterthought.
Uryu chewed his bottom lip. He absently played with the strap of his bag as he watched her look out the classroom window. The yellow sunlight faded through the clouds, attempting to hold on to the last few rays of warmth before the fight would be lost and winter would set in. Colder winds would sneak in and nip at the unguarded. Orihime frowned; most likely about nothing in particular but still pulled at him. The days so similar even though it could have been one year ago all over again.
Letting out a long breath he caved. “Alright,” the young healer let out a squeal of delight. “But just until Arisawa-san comes back.”
Tiny arms grabbed his neck and he was pulled down into a hug. His glasses jarred slightly as he attempted to keep his balance. Letting go, Orihime bounced in spot. “Thanks, Ishida-kun! I’ll email you an invitation link tonight!” With that she skipped out of the nearly empty classroom. Adjusting the silver frames and smoothing out his uniform, Uryu followed suit. After all, what could possibly happen?
~
Thankfully he had his own laptop. Given as a gift, much to his surprise, by his father at the beginning of the semester to help with his studies. Then again, everyone nowadays has one… Orihime hummed from her spot on his bedroom floor as she clicked rapidly at something on her screen. Like everything else she owned, it had a cutesy factor and the pastel pink case sported a set of little Chappy bunny stickers. Curtsy of Rukia by his guess.
“You still haven’t finished picking a character?” Orihime squinted as she looked up at him over her laptop screen.
He had to admit it was a bit overwhelming with all the different choices. His mouse clicked softly as he changed the character’s hairstyle and color for the fifteenth time. “If I’m going to play I might as well like my character, right?”
“True,”
Uryu sighed, leaning to the side and resting his chin in his other hand as he set in picking out a starting outfit. Well these ones aren’t as bad. He winced at the bright green color variant that clashed with every hair and eye color possible. Uhg, who in their right mind would dye their clothes in kiwi, video game or not?! Of course his animated character blinked happily, oblivious to the monstrosity at hand. Quickly, he clicked a different color. Light blue and white accented perfectly and Uryu smiled. That’s better.
Finally happy, he clicked the next button. The screen changed and in all cap letters read ENTER CHARACTER NAME. Uryu blinked at his screen. “I thought I already choose one…” Frowning he typed. The box blinked and in red the words ‘name has already been taken’ popped up next to it. “What?”
“What did you put, Ishida-kun?” Orihime stood, coming to stand behind him at his desk. She read his screen and giggled. “Well what did you expect? Of course Archangel would be taken. It’s been out for a few months. People snatch up common names pretty quick.”
Sitting there staring at the screen, Uryu pondered. He certainly didn’t want to use anything directly Quincy related in case someone asked what it meant. Although he doubted the majority would be able to comprehend it, he didn’t want something too overt that it would raise unwanted questions. Still something simple with meaning would be ideal.
“Inoue-san,” he asked after a few more tries. “What did you pick for yours?”
“Mechahime!”
Uryu blinked, turning his head to look at the smiling girl. “Seriously?”
“Well yeah, why not?” Standing up straight, Orihime rested a finger to her lips as if recalling something. “After all, it is my future self, remember?!”
He cringed. Orihime’s drawings were in par with Rukia’s. The vivacious scribbles awkward at best. At one point Uryu swore the two had gotten together a made a picture book of sorts. He cared less to remember what it was about though. Still, it didn’t help his predicament. He returned to the screen. The background faded and dark, but the castles in the background reminded him of stories his mother used to tell him about the old Quincies. They held a bit of a European feel as did the characters he had to choose from. He thought how he was still the last of his kind. Heir to the future of the Quincy.
After a moment he typed. This time the scene changed and an animated video started. “Finally,” he sighed. Orihime stood silently watching, not commenting on his name choice. The sequence settled and the avatar of his character centered in his screen surrounded by a pallet full of vibrant colors. Little helpful tips popped up on the different icons as he took it all in. The name ‘Atotori’ in pretty, tiny cobalt-blue letters sat above the silvery hair of his character.
“Ishida-kun, why did you choose a girl character?”
Uryu looked up briefly. “Hmm? Well, she had the best looking design in esthetics and clothing.” Orihime stood silently and he frowned. “Is there a problem with that? I thought guys played female characters all the time on games.”
“Oh!” She jumped up and waved her arms back and forth. “No, there’s nothing wrong with it! It’s just that we’re on an RP server. Most people here play their gender. But not all.”
“’RP server’?”
“It’s where people act in character while playing.”
“Oh,” now he saw why she questioned his choice. Maybe I should remake it. But then again he remembered what the male characters looked like and blanched to himself. I think I’ll be okay. Not every girl acts… well ‘girly’. Uryu smiled weakly and nodded earning a shrug from Orihime.
Returning to her spot she started clicking away. “I’m going to send you a party and friend invite. Then I’ll show you around.” A banner popped up in the middle of his screen. ‘Mechahime would like to add you as a friend’. And a similar one after that to party up. He accepted both. “Alright, give me a moment to get to you.”
Taking the few minutes, Uryu read the hints that popped up. Clicking on the icons to open various windows that held things like items, armor, skills, a list of friends, and many other things. It started to make his head spin when he saw a dart of yellow enter his screen. The bouncing short avatar stopped, scooting around to face him. Then the humanoid woman character waved. He blinked and looked closely at the space above her head. “Hey, how did you do that?”
Orihime giggled. Her character started jumping, taking off in circles around his. “First click on my character. Then you see the chat section? Type the slashbar then wave with no spaces.” Mechahime stopped moving and poised directly in front.
He looked down at the left section of the game and saw a faded portion where people were chatting. Someone was selling a particular item of sorts, a group was looking for another player to join in a dungeon raid, and the general conversation was about an American actor and his super-human ability to own the world populous with facial hair. Uryu blinked at the screen but click in the little space reserved for typing.
//Atotori waves at Mechahime.// His character waved her delicate pale hand.
“Heh, well what do you know.”
//Mechahime giggles.// Orihime’s character’s tiny shoulders shook as she raised a hand over her mouth.
“You can do all sorts of actions like that. Laugh, cry, joke, yell, oh and dance! Dancing is always the best.” Keys clicked randomly. //Mechahime bursts into a seductive dance.// The little yellow character turned into a ball of swaying hips.
Uryu smiled but shook his head. “Uh, what does that have to do with actually playing?”
“Hmm, nothing really.” Her character jumped out of the looping routine. “But it’s something to do when you’re waiting in town.” Suddenly Mechahime took off to the left. “C’mon, Ishida-kun. Let’s get started!”
~
It was awkward at first. But then again, he was a bit out of his element. The games he played before weren’t this intricate. It took several tries before Uryu could move around his character comfortably. They explored the city. Tall towers and castles filled with NPCs, interactive vendors and quest givers walked about or stayed stationary at their post. Even the stalls were filled with every imaginable item which was distinct and popped out in details that seemed absolutely surreal. Player controlled characters whizzed about in flurries of different colored outfits. At first it reminded him of a fair or festive but how silly people would actually look if they ran everywhere popped into his head making him smile. It was starting out to be a delightful experience.
They didn’t stop at a vendor like Uryu thought they would. Instead, Orihime took him to a different section that looked like a medieval version of a bank. Inside people came and went, sometimes spending longer periods of time in front of a person or chest like items before scampering off. After a few minutes another box popped up and he learned how to trade items. Uryu was reluctant as he didn’t have anything of value to trade as a starting character. But Orihime insisted, they were pieces she had picked up randomly and after all and she had to thank him somehow.
He still frowned as she showed him how to find and accept quests. Eventually leading him outside the city to gain experience in the massive online world. Luckily for him, Orihime’s Mechahime had healing skills and he could afford to fumble around as he learned. Uryu did bless his stars as he had always been a quick study and was soon able to hold his own against the majority of the beasts they came across making it easier to take on stronger enemies. Roughly two hours drifted by and Uryu found himself actually having fun. It was different and the distraction from the daily grind of school work and Hollow fighting was refreshing. He even begin to admire the strange graphical designed world as artistic.
After a while, Uryu’s fingers tired from sitting in the unique position. His inventory full and he finally reached the level to equip the last piece of armor Orihime had given him in the beginning. Their characters ran along the lush green country side trail towards a village. It was certainly smaller compared to such a grand city they started out in. But it had its own qualities of beauty as everything else in the game seemed to have.
“What do you think, Ishida-kun?” Orihime asked as she yawned, stretching as she set her computer to the side.
“Not exactly what I expected.” He answered truthfully. “But the deviation in routine is… kind of nice.” Clicking the sell button to finish ridding his inventory of random items Uryu turned to face his classmate and smiled.
She returned the smile and promptly started yawning again. It was getting late. And there was an exam in the morning. “I should probably head home.” A unique chiming sound caught his attention. Orihime looked down. “Oh, a friend from a guild I’m in is online.” Another box popped up in the corner under the two bars representing his and Orihime’s characters’ life and she started typing. Uryu squinted to read the name.
//Mechahime: Hey! Sorry to run, but I’m about to log off.//
//Shingetsu: Ah, I was going to see if you were up to a raid tonight. Oh well.//
//Mechahime: You know I would! But I’ve got a test in the morning. And I think my friend is tired as well.// “Say something, Ishida-kun.” Orihime urged when all he did was sit there staring at their conversation.
“Oh,” looking down at the keys he typed. //Atotori: Hello, nice to meet you.// He waited patiently for an answer.
//Shingetsu: Er, hi.//
//Mechahime: This is her first online game.//
Uryu turned and started to say something. “Role playing, remember? You did choose a girl character.” Orihime gave him a look to at which he frowned. Oh yeah, right… Perhaps he didn’t think it completely through.
//Shingetsu: Oh, gotcha!
//Shingetsu: In that case it’s nice to meet ya too. Cute name. Fumika fan?//
//Atotori: Uhh…// Orihime started giggling. //I guess? I’m not particular about her music.//
The chat fell silent for a moment. Longer than the other responses had come. Uryu blinked at the screen. Did I say something wrong? Finally a new message appeared. //Shingetsu: Oh I thought… Because your name, ya know.//
//Atotori: You’re thinking Aoi Tori instead. I didn’t misspell it… Atotori because I’m an heir.// The keys clicked loudly as he typed quickly. His response was followed by another lengthy pause.
//Shingetsu: Hoi, don’t get too wound up there little bird. It looked a little mushed together.//
Uryu frowned at the screen. “Did he just-”
//Mechahime: It is late.// Orihime interrupted before he could start typing again. He could almost hear her awkward laugh. //And sometimes the screen looks fuzzy when you get tired.//
//Shingetsu: Yeah…//
//Mechahime: We’ve both got exams in the morning, but I promise I’ll help out on the next weekly raid, k?//
//Shingetsu: Sure thin, Hime-chan. I’ll see ya later.//
The two exchanged pleasantries and Orihime showed him how to log off the game. Uryu continued to frown the entire time, chewing the inside of his lip in thought. The log in screen sported an animated backdrop of mountains and castles. “He’s a tad rude, don’t you think?”
“Who? Shingetsu-kun?” She asked as she picked up her computer of her lap to close it before stuffing it into her school bag. “He’s not normally like that. Really. Give him a chance, he can be a sweetheart.”
Fiddling with his mouse pad, he grumbled. “Great, a knight in shining armor.”
Orihime giggled. Standing up, she slung her bag over her shoulder. “He might be a swordsman, but his armor certainly isn’t that green.”
Uryu deadpanned, sighing for a moment before getting up to face his friend. “That’s not what I meant.”
“I know.” She winked at him.
They walked downstairs in silence. At the door he stopped. “I had fun, Inoue-san.”
“So that means you haven’t given up?” Taken aback by her strangely hopeful tone Uryu opened his mouth to assure her. But she burst into giggles before he could say anything. She really has changed since Heuco Mundo. It was a sad revelation. He shook his head in humor. “Same time tomorrow, Ishida-kun?”
He nodded and she was off, out the now open front door, waving at him from down the manor driveway. Shutting out the chilling air Uryu returned to his room. The log in screen still swishing around in vibrant blue, green and red of the scenery.
He stared at the screen for a long moment, trying to piece together why such an insignificant encounter had he off to the stable in defense. It was almost natural yet felt like such things were many years ago, almost- nostalgic. Uryu shook his head. There was only one person who had ever made him react that way before. And he- Well, things were different now. We have all changed.
Shutting down his computer Uryu prepped for bed. In the darkness, even without his glasses, the lone block of black on his desk glared back. Arisawa-san will be back in a week. He told himself. Then things will go back to normal. That is, he sure hoped so.